From early vampire films to the slasher movies of the seventies and eighties, the horror genre has captivated audiences since the beginning of the moving image. As time passes, however, audiences often find horror films boring or even laughable through overused conventions and repetitive plot lines. Present day horror filmmakers have had to completely rebrand the genre in an attempt to usher in a new generation of audiences. Through the intentional use of classic horror conventions and iconography, Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein parody the similarities and stereotypes of horror in a comedic way. While the films come from different eras in cinema, together they shine a light on the malleable nature of the horror and comedy genres in American cinema.
The Classic Hollywood era saw an unprecedented influx of horror films, largely stemming from Universal Pictures’ monster films. With classic literary villains such as Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster (as well as multiple new characters), the films were widely popular and helped define the cultural zeitgeist of the era. Previously unknown actors such as Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, and Bela Lugosi became Hollywood stars and household names. Studios churned out horror films in a factory-like manner, quickly developing an instantly recognizable cinematic look for the genre that continued for decades. Universal Pictures even began doing crossover monster films such as The House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945), with multiple popular monsters sharing the same screen. As more of these movies were created, the stereotypical horror tropes that we laugh at today were developed, from haunted castles to mad scientists exclaiming “it’s alive!”
In many ways, comedy’s subgenre of parody developed with the rise of the horror genre. Universal cast Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, two popular comedians of the classical and postclassical eras, alongside the studio’s beloved monsters in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). This was the first of many instances of Universal parodying their popular films, with Abbott and Costello continuing to act in the studio’s parodies of other genres. However, “…none seem to affectionately embrace their target as does the Frankenstein picture” (Harries), perhaps because of the enormity of the genre at the time. Later films, where the pair meets Captain Kidd or goes to Mars, never had the same effect as the first meetup. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a textbook on parody, “a classic example of a sustained film parody” (Harries). Decades later, modernist films like Young Frankenstein (1974) continue to spoof classic horror. As classic horror is extremely beloved by fans, being able to come back to them again and again in a comedic way is appealing to audiences. Parody also allows us to laugh at their flaws. As these films were created at the beginning of cinema, their special effects, dialogue, and plotlines do not necessarily hold up through a 21st century lens. Mel Brooks is adept in “…recalling the clichés of horror films of the nineteen-thirties as lovingly as someone remembering the small sins of youth” (Canby). Through parody’s intentional continuation of these myths and conventions, viewers are able to find them funny and continue to appreciate them.
In Young Frankenstein, director Mel Brooks uses exaggerations of typical horror characters in order to parody the cinematic tropes within these characters. As Young Frankenstein was made in the modernist era, it is much more self-reflexive and acknowledging of the fact that it is a movie than the films it parodies. For example, Gene Wilder’s young Dr. Frankenstein is a blown-up version of the horror genre’s mad scientist character. He is overdramatic, overplayed, and just a little crazier than his 1931 relative. The parody is comedically effective because the audience sees the elements of the mad scientist character that are true across classic horror films while also seeing the exaggerated elements. Conversely, in characters such as Igor and The Monster, director Mel Brooks plays with our expectations for comedic effect. Given classic horror iconography, we would expect the cloaked hunchbacked figure to be foreboding, scary, or villainous. However, Igor is funny and good-natured (strange as he is). Audiences expect The Monster to be similar to that of the book and previous movies, yet in Brooks’ film he is defined by his love of violin music and skills in bed. The absurdity between audiences’ expectations of these characters and their personas creates the comedy.
While Young Frankenstein employs exaggerated character conventions, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein uses actual horror actors of the time alongside actual comedians. As Melvin Helitzer writes, “…good humor is a paradox, the juxtaposition of putting the reasonable next to the unreasonable.” The comedy of the characters stem from the juxtaposition between monstrous characters and comedic ones. As it was made in the postclassical era, it is slightly more self-reflexive than its classic horror predecessors as the film is aware of the audiences’ perceptions of the actors/characters. Dan Harries writes in Film Parody, “…this film also stars the original actors reprising their now famous monster roles…It is their (the actors) ability to play the monsters ‘straight’ that makes this film so effective in critiquing the horror genre itself.” The monster’s performances alone do not make the film funny, but when placed next to Abbott and Costello it appears that way. Where in Young Frankenstein they exaggerate or understate horror characters, here they insert characters completely incongruous with the horror genre. Furthermore, two baggage clerks would rarely be the protagonists of a horror film. Costello’s character of Wilbur is a lovable idiot, running around and stopping to say “I wonder if he counted these oranges” when he should be running from The Wolfman. While in different ways, both Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein play into audiences’ expectations of character in regards to horror and comedy genres.
The visual design of Young Frankenstein notably employs the iconography and traditional set design of its classic Hollywood predecessors. This adds to the comedic effect – for a film from the seventies, everything looks a little out of place. It is in black and white long after the introduction of color. The special effects are laughable during a time when special effects technology began to take off. The film frequently uses fog, cobwebs, candles, and lightning, common symbols in horror. The difference is that instead of an eerie effect they create a comical one. A key example of this occurs in the scene where Frederick Frankenstein resurrects The Monster. This scene closely resembles the same scene in Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The laboratory set looks the same, the contraption pulling the corpse to the roof is similar, and the castle they are in is almost exactly alike. The similar set design is humorous in its familiarity but also pays homage to the cultural impact of these films. As Vincent Canby wrote for the New York Times, “…one can laugh with it and never feel as if the target film, James Whale’s 1931 classic that starred Boris Karloff, is being rudely used” (Canby). Rather than poke fun at classic horror, the parodying of its classic symbols and visual design is the film’s way of paying its respects to the genre that came before it.
As Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was released in towards the end of the years of the Universal monster movies, the visual design still closely aligns with classic horror conventions. However, while creating a fearsome effect, the sets are interacted with in a comedic way. For example, the scene in the castle where a revolving trap door prevents Abbott’s character of Chick from seeing the monsters is laughable rather than frightening. The audience is in disbelief that Chick has gone so long without realizing the monster’s existence, not frightened of what will happen to the pair. While the trap door is slightly shocking, it makes the audience laugh. In the scene when Chick and Wilbur are paddling away in the moat, the audience is not scared for their lives but laughing at the fact that they can’t figure out how to get away. While the set design of the moat and castle is foreboding and dark, the fact that it is Abbott and Costello interacting with the set causes audiences to believe that they have nothing to worry about. Similarly to Young Frankenstein, the film employs horror symbols such as lightning strikes, bats, and fog for the purpose of comedy. Additionally, while perhaps cutting edge at the time, the use of bat puppets and animation for Count Dracula appears unintentionally comical when looked at through a 21st century or even modernist lens. The continual use of classic horror sets and conventions of visual design amplifies the films’ parody of these films.
As Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein come from different eras of film, their styles of comedy are very different. While both include elements of parody, the comedic differences in the films exemplify the changes in comedy genre conventions over time. In Young Frankenstein, much of the comedy is literal or absurdist and comes from the dialogue and its deadpan delivery. For example, when Frederick Frankenstein asks Igor about his hunchback, he unflinchingly responds with “…what hump,” confusing and amusing the audience. When Igor says “…you haven’t touched your food,” Frankenstein literally starts touching his breakfast. The actors respond to dialogue more literally and casually than would be expected given the situations they are in. On the other hand, in the earlier Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the comedy veers more toward slapstick. Recurring gags involving lots of movement such as the revolving trap door occur throughout the movie. The protagonists are in many ways’ idiots, messing around, playing jokes off of each other, and getting into situations and mistakes that most people could avoid. As cultural ideologies and perspectives change as time passes, what people find funny also changes. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein premiered in the years towards the end of the depression and beginning of World War Two. Audiences just wanted a laugh and to be entertained for a couple hours, and Abbott and Costello’s easily digestible humor gave them this. Young Frankenstein was in the Vietnam War years, where many Americans distrusted the American government and disliked the direction in which the country was headed. Because of this, the humor in Young Frankenstein is slightly darker and more confrontational than its purely for entertainment predecessors. Even now in the post-modern era, what audiences find funny has shifted from the past due to the changes that have occurred in our culture.
Through employing the conventions and iconography of both horror and comedy, Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein are a perfect example of genre combination. They are both horror and comedy rolled into one, and beyond that could fit into subgenres such as parody, spoof, or satire. Film scholar Janet Staiger writes that even in the classical and postclassical eras, genres did not always fall under one category, although we often believe the opposite to be true. She writes, “…the routine effect of combination…is obvious not only for apparent cases such as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein but even for films that have been labeled as classics in a particular genre” (Staiger). Films have double dipped in multiple genres from the beginning. Both films employ conflicted characters, lightning, dark shadows, haunted buildings, monsters, and feelings of fear – conventions of horror. But they also contain exaggerations, parodies, slapstick, lovable characters, and moments of pure absurdity – conventions of comedy. The two films are able to transcend traditional ideas about genre by employing the conventions and iconography of more than one genre.
The horror today is not the horror of yesterday. The same goes for comedy. As cultural mindsets and attitudes shift, so does the cultural mindsets and attitudes reflected on screen. What “works” in a film for one generation of Americans may not work for the next. However, some films remain so beloved and intrinsic cultures that their elements continue to impact their genres long after their eras have gone by. By parodying the similarities and clichés of the classic horror genre, Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein pay homage to the cultural impact that these films have through comedy. And when juxtaposed together, the two films show audiences how in only decades the conventions of genre can shift. Traditional monster movies are rarely seen today. But while horror has moved on to bigger, perhaps more complex themes, the genre’s classic style will forever remain on the consciousness of horror filmmakers and fans.